Broken Vows

Looking at the small girl sitting in that awful cell, my blood is close to boiling, but I don't want to scare the poor child. I know she has been through so much already. The ragged blanket is doing little to shield her from the cold of the bleak cell. She looks up at me, and I see those all too familiar blue eyes. I smile warmly at the sweet child, missing my own even more. But this isn't where the story begins, not really. This story starts more than two hundred years ago, in the spring of 1802. I know that would make me far older than you imagined. I know I don’t look that old. Long ago, witches learned to fight time, and we only age if we choose to. Typically, a witch or wizard would only decide to grow old if they found some mortal creature worthy. They would then grow old with their chosen partner. In my youth, I never thought I would find someone like that. Why would I want to look old? That spring, however, I was still young in every way: mind, body, and spirit. I was yearning to live life to the fullest. That is, when I wasn't stuck in training and studies with my mother. I was training to become the next Supreme Witch after her. I didn’t really want the responsibility at that time. As soon as I was able, I would flit my way to the next grand party or Ball, anything with music and laughter. Life was just one big party and a game to play; I can't believe how foolish I was: young and foolish. *** "Mother, I have practiced," I whine. My mother sits, arms crossed, staring me down. "And just where is this grand event you just have to attend?" She scowls slightly at me. I brush the lock of blond hair out of my eyes and give my best innocent face. Even at twenty-two, my mother treats me like a child, but I guess I don’t really help my case. "Oh well, it's not too far. The Fae King is just throwing his spring ball. You should come too." I know she won’t. She would rather be home reading. I may look just like her, but we couldn’t be any more different. I hate being locked away with nothing but studying and reading for company, but not my mother. She lives for learning. I know she wishes that I was more like her. Her gray-blue eyes soften a fraction, and I know I’ve won. "Well, I guess you should go; the King did invite you. It would be rude not to attend," she sighs. I let go of the sapphire pendant around my neck and hop up from my chair. "Great! I'm going to go find Rana. We need to get ready," I chirp excitedly before rushing over to my mother and kissing her on the cheek. "Thank you," I say. My mother takes my hand before I can rush off. "I do expect you to put in a full day of studies tomorrow, so don't stay out all night." She looks me dead in the eyes, and I know this is not up for debate from the look on her face. "Of course, mother," I smile sweetly, and she laughs a little. "You are as bad as your father was, always looking for the next thrill and using that smile to get his way too.” My father died ten years ago in a freak accident. He was a powerful warlock, but he liked to experiment with magic that was more powerful than he was. One day, an experiment got to be more than he could handle. Half the room was destroyed. The whole castle shook with the explosion. The strange thing was we couldn't even find him. He was just gone. We had to mourn without a body to bury. It was a hard time. I give Mother one more kiss on the cheek when she starts to look sad. I know she is thinking about father. She smiles at me. "Go and find Rana. You need to get ready, right?" I don't waste much time. I take off out of the dining room to go and find my friend. Rana and I have always been best friends from the first day we met. Her family came to work in the castle as staff. Still, my mother wanted Rana to have a proper education as well, so she asked Rana's parents if she could take lessons with me. We were only seven when my mother became our teacher. Rana is a much better student than I am; she is far more devoted to learning, which helps. I hurry down the hallway to my room. I had asked Rana to wait for me there while I talked to my mother. My footsteps echo off the stone walls as I rush down the long hall. The frequent windows let in the warm afternoon sun, and the gardens just outside the windows are coming to life. I love the spring and everything coming to life after the dark winter. I finally reach my door, twist the iron latch, and push the door open. Rana sits on my bed reading, her rich dark brown hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. She looks up with her dazzling deep blue eyes. She is a beautiful girl, but she doesn’t have an ounce of vanity; if anything, she thinks she's plain. I just laugh at her. She can't seem to see what everyone else sees. "What did she say? Yes, right? You get to go, don't you?" Rana’s rapid-firer of questions as she puts the book aside. "Of course she said I can go," I wink. Mother rarely tells me no. "Now, we have a ball to get ready for," I smile, heading to the wardrobe to see which gown I'll be wearing tonight. I am going to find one for Rana as well. I have more dresses than I need, but they are so beautiful I just had to have them. Lately, I have been learning to make dresses as well as buying them. I love magic; it can make anything a reality. You just have to know the right spells. "Do you think he'll be there?" Rana pipes in. I am rummaging through gowns looking for just the right shade of blue to match her eyes. I wonder if I remember the right spell to adjust the shade of the dress if I can’t find the right blue because she needs to look stunning. "Who?" I ask absentmindedly, finding the dress and trying to recall the spell I need. Rana comes into the wardrobe, taking the dress that is in my hands and tilts her head, giving me a half-smile. “What do you mean who? Cadmus, King of the Dragons…” Rana lets out a dramatic sigh and flops back on my bed the dress draping on top of her. I giggle at her; she has been in love with him since we were children. Cadmus is older than we are at nearly thirty. He still hasn't found his Queen. Then again, dragons live forever, so it could take hundreds of years before he does find her. He told me once, when I was a child, he would wait forever to find her or for her to find him. It doesn't matter to him how long it takes. He can wait. I laughed at him a bit, but he just smiled. I'm glad witches and wizards don't have mates like other species do. We get to choose who we want to love, but for dragons and wolves, it's chosen for them by divine fate. Even vampires have those that they are meant for. I don't go in for all of that; I want to choose who I fall in love with. I don't know why the mate bond sounds like hell to me. To be so in love with someone you don't know, I don't even see how that's possible. I shake my head as I think about it. Rana sits up and looks at the dress she's still holding. "So, do you think he'll be there?" She prods again, and I laugh. "I think he'll be there. Everyone will be there. I plan to dance the entire night. A different man for every song! Unless I find the perfect one…" I think for a moment if I will ever find the right man. I want to be in love, but I plan to have as much fun as I can before finding him. I'm not in a rush. "Willow, you are too much, you know that? What are you trying to do with this anyway?" Rana quizzes me, holding up the gown, and looking it over. "I think that it would suit you best, but I want to change the color to match your eyes," I reply. "You can't remember the spell, can you?" Rana is looking at me critically now, a small smirk on her lips. She knows me too well. "I have a lot on my mind, okay," I claim, crossing my arms and scowling at her. That just makes her laugh, and then I start laughing. When she stops laughing, she looks at the gown and mutters a few words, and the color of the dress deepens. The perfect blue color spreads over the light gray fabric. "There! All done," she says, holding up the dress. "It's perfect, thank you, Willow." "Don't thank me; you are the one that remembered the spell," I shrug, smiling. I continue looking through the dresses, trying to find the one I want to wear. Rana comes over to help. "This one! But let me..." She trails off, and the dress shifts color to a soft pastel pink, which fits my skin tone perfectly. "Oh, that's just right! Thank you, Rana." I beam, pulling the gown out into the light to look it over better. This is going to be a fantastic night; I just know it. "We should start getting ready. We still have to get there tonight, and you know the Fae King won't keep the portals open all night," Rana reminds me. She's right: the Fae King Gavin has a thing for being punctual. It helps prevent uninvited guests. He'll have the portals open for about an hour, and then he'll close them, only opening them again when it's time for those not staying the night to depart. Rana and I will have to come home. My mother is expecting me bright and early for lessons. Staying at Gavin's palace would be more fun than rushing home. As Rana and I get changed, I start wondering if I can just tell mother we missed the portal and had to stay the night. I know King Gavin won't mind: he's still looking for a queen as well, and the more women around, the better he likes it. He might be handsome, but I'm not interested in him at all. He's had more conquests than I can even count. He doesn't share Cadmus’s view on waiting forever for his Queen. I don't even know for sure how old Gavin is. Fae don't age either unless they want to, and none seem to ever want to. Most look to be thirty but are far older than that, so it's hard to guess how old they really are. Gavin has been King and remained unaged for as long as I can remember. The rumor is he's more than a hundred and fifty. I'm finally dressed. Rana helps me tie the lacing in the back of the gown and turns around, so I can do hers. A spell I do remember very well is how to fix our hair. I mutter a few quick words, and my long blonde hair is suddenly in curls. Pink flowers weave through my hair, holding it up and back out of my face a little. Rana does something similar with her hair, but she has it pulled up more with tiny white roses. We take one last look at each other, and we are both beaming with excitement. I know tonight will be the best night, and I can't wait to dance the night away. I take Rana's hand and check the clock on the wall. We need to hurry, or all our getting ready will be for nothing. As we enter the hall, I can see the glowing portal through the larger window in the hall. Rana and I take off as fast as we can in our gowns, giggling along the way. I still have the strongest feeling that tonight is going to be important. As we rush to the portal, I can't help but wonder what could be giving me this feeling.